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Saturday, November 17, 2012

YALLFest 2012 (In photos)

You guys. YALLFest 2012 was epic. It really was. In so many ways.

First of all - can I say that Margie Stohl is not only totally adorable, but more enthusiastic and fun than you can ever imagine?!? Seriously. Besides being the co-creator of the whole event and helping organize and plan everything, she oozes this contagious, brilliant, exciting vibe. I think her Beautiful Creatures books are starting to rub off on her, or maybe it's the other way around?!? Either way, I'm convinced she's absolutely magical.

The whole weekend was just fun, fun, fun, with a little bit of utter chaos mixed in to even it all out. BUT none of it would've been the same without my partner-in-crime (and also my sister), Sandy. Think I mentioned before that our sisterly road trips have become fewer over the years, as it's increasingly hard with our busy schedules to get away. SO this trip came at the perfect time for both of us and it was just great to hang out and catch up on everything we've missed.

And those of you that have followed the blog for awhile now know I'm a HUGE fan of photo tours/blogs, so without further ado, here's our trip through the lens of our cameras/phones:

Leaving my house on Friday around lunch time. It's a sisterly tradition to get Taco Bell at some point during our trip. There are so very many reasons/ top-secret superstitions attached to this, so you'll have to trust me on this one and just know, that like YALLFest, it's epic.

That night, after checking into our hotel, we walked to the Noisy Oyster for dinner, and though this pictures does NOT do it justice, this fried-green-tomatoes appetizer was PHENOMENAL. Seriously. One of the most spectacular things I've had in a while. And I don't even like grits. Something about the combination of the flavors in this was dead on. YUM.

The next morning, we packed an INSANE amount of books into our two bags and set off in search of coffee and our first panel, the Keynote about Literary Friendships, led by none other than Cassie Clare and Holly Black.

Cassie Clare and Holly Black talk about literary friendships and other general awesomeness.

Waiting in line for the Cassie Clare signing. Meeting her was definitely a YALLFest highlight, and we talked briefly about important subjects such as Magnus Bane and the amazingly hot actor who will play him in the upcoming movie. Cassie said she got to be an extra in the Magnus Bane party scene from City of Bones...how cool is that?

Lunch was a quick pita, which we ate at this cool fountain with benches surrounding it.

All the panels and signings happened throughout the day, overlapping each other, so most of our time was spent going from one thing to another, so it was way past 1pm by the time we stopped to get a snack. We were starving from all the walking and lugging around of the books!

Live long and prosper!!!

(that went through my head every.single.time. we passed this "do not walk" sign with the lights out.)

Our last signing of the day!

(Carrie Ryan, one of my all time favorite YA authors)

Carrie signing my Forest of Hands and Teeth books while we talk about zombies.

(Look how happy I am. Do you see the love? Because she writes zombies better than anyone, and I never, ever, in a million years thought a zombie book could be so intelligent and moving. Seriously, those books are genius!)

Me and the lovely, aforementioned Carrie Ryan

YA Smackdown!

An insane and chaotic, improv-type event that is highly entertaining.

A slew of YA authors, grouped into their written genres, compete by making and acting out various stories throughout the night. Seriously laughed so hard!

Charleston, the next morning, right before we headed home.

Gorgeous, no?

A trip to Charleston is never fully complete without a Pineapple Fountain photo.

Trust me on this.

GOOD TIMES, I tell you. Good times!

Stay tuned for other exciting news, hopefully to be announced sometime next week.

When I say my trip to Charleston was epic is SO MANY WAYS, I mean it. It was a weekend I'll never forget, highlighted by quality time spent with my sister, celebrating books and authors that I love, with future meaning to me and my career as a writer/author.